Keef Halla Country House, Crumlin

...tastefully decorated.

Keef Halla offers seven rooms of various sizes but they are all identically decorated. Their web site www.keefhalla.com shows the rooms in great detail. Prices vary depending on needs; basic single room occupancy is £50.00 per night up to £75.00 for a family room.

I book via the phone, the owner always answers & tells you immediately if he has accommodation available but you can book via the website. ...
...that & ample electrical sockets. Keef Halla also provide free Wi-Fi which is very convenient.
The beds are very comfortable, the rooms are warm in winter & cool in summer, there is no shortage of spare pillows & the rooms are cleaned to a high standard.

The best thing about Keef Halla is breakfast time; here they would put a five star hotel to shame. You have breakfast in the conservatory overlooking the garden. You have a proper ... more

I visit Northern Ireland on business four times a year & have been going there since 1997. An Irish colleague recommended this guest house to me, apparently it won 'The Irish Guest House of the Year' in the 1990s & it is so good that if my better half ever throws me out of the house…….I'm heading to this place!

This four star guest house is located about two miles from Belfast International Airport, about 20-30 minutes driving time north west of Belfast city centre. From outside it just looks like a modern large house with a few extensions added on & no immediate neighbours. However inside it is tastefully decorated.

Keef Halla offers seven rooms of various sizes but they are all identically decorated. Their web site www.keefhalla.com shows the rooms in great detail. Prices vary depending on needs; basic single room occupancy is £50.00 per night up to £75.00 for a family room.

I book via the phone, the owner always answers & tells you immediately if he has accommodation available but you can book via the website. His occupancy rate is over 90%, I know many established hotels that would kill for that figure.

On arrival there is ample parking spaces on a hard standing surface car park with three separate entrances. You are always greeted by the owner Charles Kelly who always takes the time & trouble to show you to your room & the facilities on offer.

Most rooms have more than one comfortable bed, some even have a two piece suite & all have ample room to move around. The furniture & built in wardrobes are in dark wood, I've never seen so many coat hangers available for guests!
They supply a hair dryer, trouser press, TV with around 10 channels, clock radio, kettle with coffee, tea, water, chocolates & biscuits. All rooms come with en-suite bathrooms which are all tiled & spotlessly clean. You get ample towels, face cloths, shampoo & soap etc. Only one room that I aware of has a bath, all others come with a shower.

If you need to work on a lap top there is a small desk area ideal for that & ample electrical sockets. Keef Halla also provide free Wi-Fi which is very convenient.
The beds are very comfortable, the rooms are warm in winter & cool in summer, there is no shortage of spare pillows & the rooms are cleaned to a high standard.

The best thing about Keef Halla is breakfast time; here they would put a five star hotel to shame. You have breakfast in the conservatory overlooking the garden. You have a proper table cloth on the table & cloth napkins, no cheap paper napkins here!
The cutlery is high quality & I am convinced the owner sits up all night polishing the spoons as they are spotless in the morning.

For breakfast you have about seven choices of cereal, yogurts, fruit, good quality tea or coffee & orange juice. He always serves you a jug of juice instead of just a small glass; if that is not enough he will replenish the jug as he does with the coffee & tea at no extra charge.

Cooked meals are either full or partial English cooked breakfast or a full Ulster fry up. The cooked food is always presented to you piping hot, so hot in fact that when you finished eating, the plate is still to hot to handle!
They also provide tooth picks on the table for you if required & the owner always appears to remember when you had for breakfast when you return months later. Just as well he remembers!
The standard of food & the service provided is constantly good, not just a 'hit or miss affair' & the little details count.

One morning I needed to leave before breakfast to catch an early morning ferry. He kindly got up at 5.30am & made me hot bacon sandwiches wrapped in tin foil & gave me them as I was leaving along with a small carton of orange juice. Can you imagine asking a staff member at a Travelodge to do that! Its little wonder his guest house is seldom empty.

Payment is made before you leave & he will take most credit/debit cards except American Express. They will take cash…….even Scottish bank notes!

Drawbacks? Well there is a couple, if you don't have a car you will find it difficult to eat out at night as the guest house doesn't do meals. Keef Halla is situated on the main road to the airport & Antrim & the nearest decent restaurant is about two miles away. A car is essential, if you have transport there is a good selection of restaurants nearby including traditional, Indian & Cantonese just to name three.

The other drawback is that main road, it is incredibly busy at peak times, I have seen me sitting for 5-10 minutes just to enter the road in the car & in some case because of the 60mph speed limit you take your life in your hands edging out his drive way in peak times.
What makes it difficult is one direction is moving at 60mph & the other side is crawling at 10mph, so you race out & then have to slam on the brakes as you nearly hit the slow moving traffic.
However, the noise level of the traffic isn't too bad when you are in the rooms.

It is a small price to pay for what is a great guest house, cosy, relaxing & comfortable with excellent breakfast & friendly owners. If I could give it six stars I would, it is highly recommend. 

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